this post was submitted on 22 Jan 2026
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BuyFromEU

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I know Wero is still in its infancy and the digital Euro is still a few years away, even if you believe there'll be no delays. But depending on where you live you can already do a lot for EU financial independence.

  • Use cash (very easy but not ideal in many situations/online)
  • Use a national payment providers:
    • Germany ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช: Girocard
    • Netherlands ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ: iDEAL
    • France ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท: Cartes Bancaires
    • Poland ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ: BLIK
    • Italy ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น:Bancomat/PagoBancomat
    • Many other options, check for your country
  • Use SEPA direct debit mandate or wire money directly if you can
  • Sign up to a european crypto exchange and use it for direct purchases. although I get if you don't like crypto but this is just for direct purchases

Otherwise American Payment providers usually get at least 1% and if you use card payment a lot over time that can really add up. This also mostly makes sense when buying from a european company. For US companies it really doesn't matter much. I've been trying to replace Amazon with Otto and I use SEPA direct debit mandate to avoid fees.

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[โ€“] lmueller@feddit.org 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I am from Germany and basically anyone I know pays with Apple and Google Pay on a daily basis. We do have the German "Girocard", which is similar to a Mastercard/Visa Debit, but the biggest bank in Germany also supports Apple Pay with that card.

[โ€“] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Interesting, I am also from Germany and no one I know uses those (that I know of).

[โ€“] Localhorst86@feddit.org 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

In germany, most banks that offer free banking (ING, Comdirect, DKB etc.) have switched from girocard to VISA/MC Debit cards. If you want an actual girocard, you'll need to pay a monthly fee, either "directly" for the card (In the case of ING, Comdirect etc.), or by having a paid account in the first place (like Sparkasse, Raiffeisenbank, Commerzbank etc.)

[โ€“] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Good to know, I was talking about Google Pay and Apple Pay, though.

[โ€“] Localhorst86@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago

Ah, in that case I only know a handful of people personally that use Apple pay, but I do see some people occasionally pay by tapping their phone at the checkout